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Southern Rail strikes

"In light of the horrific bombing in Manchester last night, and the heightened safety and security alerts on our transport services, RMT's executive has taken the decision to suspend the 24-hours worth of strike action scheduled for Tuesday May 30 on Merseyrail, Northern Rail and Southern Rail," he said.

"Our thoughts and solidarity at this time are with the people of Manchester."

The move to suspend strike action has been called "an appropriate response" by Southern Rail.

A spokesman said: "This is an appropriate response by the RMT to the tragedy in Manchester. We thank them for taking this step.

"The union now need to use this opportunity to agree to the very good offers we have made, including job guarantees, and work with us to future-proof the busiest railway in the UK for our passengers - most of whom simply want to get to their place of work each day."